Page 86 of Wicche Hunt

When the pressure in my head got painful, I surfaced and took a breath. Dad’s DNA meant I could stay under without drowning, but the longer I went without air, the bigger the headache.

Something bumped my hip, the little sneak, and I dove down to give chase. He was teasing me, letting me get tantalizingly close and then racing off. I’d been so distracted, worrying about how long I’d have Cecil in my life, that it took too long to realize I’d swum too far out.

Surfacing, I got swamped by a wave, the wake of a fishing boat.Damn it. What the hell was wrong with me? Exhausted, muscles trembling, I looked for the gallery and couldn’t see it. Another huge wave dragged me down and spun me around. When I finally surfaced again, I wasn’t sure which direction to go, and I felt a flutter of fear in my chest.

I’d barely gone ten strokes when I was nudged again. This time, however, it wasn’t Wilbur. It was a dolphin, who circled me once before sidling up beside me. I wrapped my hands around his dorsal fin and let him tow me back to shore, with two more dolphins who seemed to be serving as guards. A last big wave brought me home, the dolphins circling until I’d climbed the rope Declan had installed for me. At the top, giving me a hand over was Emrys, Wilbur in his other form, that of a slight, pale fae man with translucent hair.

“Mistress, are you well?” He waited, unconcerned with his nakedness.

“Yeah. The nice dolphin gave me a ride back. What was that, though? Why were you leading me so far away from the shore?”

He’d already begun shaking his head. “Never would I put your safety in jeopardy, Mistress. That wasn’t me. That was Ash, who has always been a good and loyal soldier to your father.” He lowered his head. “He is being stripped of his seal skin as we speak. Your father is furious that he would try to harm you.”

I dropped onto a bench, my muscles quivering. “Does my father know we have a sorcerer and her demon targeting us again?”

Emrys—which is how I thought of Wilbur in this form—hissed at the worddemonand then nodded. “He has been informed.”

“Does Ash interact with humans around here, or is he primarily in the ocean or in Faerie?” I was getting a sneaking suspicion as to why Ash was suddenly trying to kill me, to make me afraid of my safe place.

“Both. He recently found a mate and has been granted permission to live in this realm.”

“Please let my father know that he could have been spelled or even possessed to behave as he did. Though I believe possession leaves the possessed dead. If he’s still alive, it’s possible my cousin spelled him.” I paused, considering. “I wouldn’t have thought our magic strong enough to spell the fae, though.”

“Your father is listening to your words through me. He asks that you spell me as an experiment.” He stood braced and ready.

“Emrys, I’d never hurt you. The vast majority of spells don’t cause pain. I understand my father orders it, but are you okay with this? I won’t do it otherwise.”

Solemnly, he nodded, looking like he was facing a firing squad.

“Father, if you can hear me, this isn’t a perfect experiment. Wicches are all different. We have different strengths and gifts. My magic is even more different, as I also possess fae gifts. If Ash’s betrayal was orchestrated by Calliope, her magic would be run through with demon power. Does Ash smell of sulfur? I have a half-demon, half-wicche friend who says that if demons are involved, sulfur will be present.”

Emrys kept his head bowed. “Your father is having Ash checked, though he still asks that you spell me.”

I flicked my fingers, and he waited.

“Look at yourself,” I said.

He lifted his hand in wonder. His pale skin was now the speckled gray and brown of his seal skin.

“Have you altered my skin or my own perception of it?”

“Your skin. And you might notice you’re no longer standing on the deck.”

His focus quickly moved from his arm to the deck he hovered six inches above. “I see. Your father asks—and I second—can you undo what your spell has done?”

I flicked my fingers and he was as he had been.

“I’d be more inclined to believe Calliope and her demon poisoned Ash than he suddenly chose, all on his own, to try to hurt me.” I really didn’t want some poor selkie being punished for freaking Cal’s actions.

“Your father understands your concern and commends your empathy. He assures you he will investigate before Ash is punished, if he is indeed punished.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Emrys nodded, donned his sealskin, and leapt over the railing, diving into the ocean.

Sopping wet and still shaky, I did a quick drying spell so I didn’t track seawater everywhere, and then went in to shower properly. Once I was cleaned, my hair conditioned and beginning to dry, I crawled onto my bed and pulled a blanket over me.

The ocean had always been my happy and safe place. When the nightmares and visions were too much, when the haters got to me, or the obsessives wouldn’t leave me alone, I had the water and all the wonderful creatures in it. Now Calliope was trying to take that away from me.

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